Taiwan Launches Female Reservist Training Program

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday inspected Taiwan’s first training program for female military reservists. Tsai praised the volunteers for their efforts and said the program would send a message that Taiwan is ready to face any threat.

“Taiwan is on the frontline defending democracy, and [Taiwanese] regardless of gender must be united and demonstrate to the world our resolve to defend our country,” Tsai said, as quoted by Focus Taiwan on Thursday.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry announced plans in January to let women volunteer for reserve force training, beginning with about 220 discharged female soldiers. The trial program was scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2023. It met that schedule by launching at the beginning of this week. The first group of female reservists consists of 14 women with previous military experience.

“You may not see any ‘Rambos’ here, but what you will see are our male and also first batch of female reservist soldiers who are willing to use their time to return to the barracks for training,” Taiwanese Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said on Tuesday while giving reporters a tour of the training facility in the city of Taoyuan.

“I think this is very important in ensuring our country’s safety and demonstrating the people’s resolve in protecting our country,” Sun said.

Tuesday’s exercises included gas mask training and street patrols. By the time Tsai arrived on Thursday, the trainees had completed a five-kilometer march and marksmanship exercises. Tsai praised the women for taking time off from work, and even leaving their children at home, to participate. She also presented cash awards as tokens of gratitude to the volunteers.

“With no country, there’s no home. That’s why I’m here – because what concerns the country is everyone’s business,” said reservist Tang Mi, a 26-year-old realtor.

The first group of reservists said they expected their training to be as tough as anything faced by their male comrades.

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“Our drills are the exact same as the men’s. Why should there be a gender difference?” said reserve trainee Luboying Sungmingtumni.

Military service in Taiwan is mandatory for men, and voluntary for women. Women currently make up about 15% of the Taiwanese military, but mostly in non-combat positions.

In December 2022, the term of compulsory service for men was extended from four months to one year for men born after 2005, effective as of January 1, 2024. Polls showed a majority of the Taiwanese public thought four months was too short, given the increasing threat from China.